Short Reviews [Orion - 2017 - "Le Survivant"]

It is not that unusual for a band to break up and then reform, but I am having problems trying to think of one who did it for quite such a long period. Orion were originally formed back in 1975, released an album, and then disbanded in 1980. Then, more than 30 years later they decided to reform, since when they have released more albums, including this one from 2017. Both Patrick Wyrembski (acoustic guitar) and Janusz Tokarz (vocals, keyboards) played on the debut all those years earlier, while the rest of the band comprise Alain Pierre (vocals, guitar) and Michel Taran (vocals, keyboards) plus assorted guests. There is a well-presented booklet with lots of photographs and all the lyrics for what is apparently a concept album, but with all the lyrics in French I am afraid I cannot comment to much on that. Interestingly, this album has received quite a few 5* reviews, which I find hard to fathom as while it is interesting at some levels, it is also quite boring at others. Here we have a release which contains lots of keyboards and vocals, yet neither of those areas stand out and they all tend to wash into each other. Frustratingly there are glimpses of brilliance such as during the introduction of “Le Dernier Abre”, which contains an interesting piano motif which is mirrored by the bass. However, it then all slows down and takes on a far more meandering and reflective manner and all sense of purpose is soon washed away. There are elements of washed-out 70’s symphonic combined with some of the elements of early 90’s neo, and if I had been given this as a demo some 30 years ago from a brand-new band, I may have been more excited as it shows promise. But when a band has been around the scene as long as this one, and this their third album in five years, I expect a great deal more. Musically, this just drags and is rarely anything more than background music and not one to which I expect ever to be returning.